RTI Curbs Corruption

Corruption is the abuse of delegated power and authority for private gains. As corruption is a chronic disease, it blemishes every society and economy. With its many manifestations, corruption thrives at the expense of rule of law, transparency, accountability, human rights and socio-economic development. It not only paralyses democratic institutions, civilisation and erodes trust and social values but also affects the justice system and equality. Despite different mechanisms in place to prevent and control corruption in Nepal, this malady appears to have been widespread in the Nepali society. Numerous scams related to the abuse of power are being investigated at present. Embezzlement, bribery, fraud and extortion are some of the key corrupt practices. Policy-level corruption is considered to be more detrimental to the society and the nation than others. Transparency is regarded as an important tool to curb corruption and tackle other systemic dysfunctions. 

As an instrument to maintain transparency and accountability in organisations, especially public bodies, the Right to Information Act, 2007 has been in implementation in Nepal. The Act has made it mandatory for all the public organisations to provide the information as sought by the people. With the enforcement of this Act, some tangible changes have been made in regard to the dissemination of information by the public bodies. At present, most public bodies have designated information officers in order to impart information as demanded by the public. Likewise, a lot of public organisations also bring out publications highlighting their activities occasionally. Another significant achievement is that policymakers have remained well aware of the existing RTI law. With increased public awareness about the RTI Act, there has been a growing tendency among the people, especially journalists and RTI activists, to seek information from public offices.

But what is saddening is that many public agencies are not being cooperative to provide information to the public as well as the civil society in the name of confidentiality. This often compels the information seekers to file complaints to the National Information Commission (NIC) against a host of public bodies and officials. However, this Act alone may not be adequate to deal with irregularities in the country. It is necessary to create pathways that provide people with applicable tools to participate in governance. They are needed to be involved in identifying priorities and problems and seeking solutions. Bringing about behavioural change in bureaucrats, politicians and common people is equally essential for improving governance and public delivery system. The mindset of the public officials needs to be changed. The media has a pivotal role to play in creating public awareness and piling pressure on the government to ensure people's right to information. 

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has underlined the need to make an end to the practice of keeping the personal details of every person in a public position, including their properties, secret, in order to help establish good governance in the country. Addressing the 17th National Information Day organised by the NIC in Kathmandu on Sunday, the Prime Minister called for making necessary legal arrangements for people to report on bribery, inefficiency in public services and non-transparent behaviour of public officials.  A culture of receiving and giving information was required to be developed among one and all in a bid to check corruption effectively. The world has now been working with the blockchain technology, which is a shared database technology used for controlling corruption. The Prime Minister suggested that the country should adopt new technology in order to check corruption in a more effective manner.